In 1894, Ethiopia ordered from the Atelier de Fabrication des
Timbres-Postes in Paris, France, a set of seven values
depicting an effigy of Menelik II: ¼, ½, 1, 2, 4, 8, and 16
Guerche; and three values depicting the Lion of Judah: 4, 8,
and 16 Guerche. Of the ten, only seven were issued: the four
lower Menelik values and the three Lion of Judah values. These
were issued on 27 January 1895. Menelik II and the Lion of
Judah represent the tradition of the unbroken lineage of the
Ethiopian Solomonic dynasty that trace its roots back to the
marriage of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.